Half Discovered Wings (33 page)

‘
This is the track left by the Luxers?’ the magus
asked.

‘
Yes. You can see how many there were. We were lucky to have
saved so many of the buildings here.’

‘
Do you fight?’ Rowan asked, as they neared the first of the
buildings.

‘
Yes, some of us fight. But our weapons are primitive and few,
and
they
are many
and burdened with armaments. There is no-one nearby to protect us.
Some fear our town is lost. We can’t survive long against fire and
arrows.

‘
These are the storehouses,’ Saykaan continued after a pause.
‘They are the first to be burned, but we place the most protection
on this side. The eastern side of Iilyani, where the stables are,
has suffered the most this time around. We have no more horses, bar
one.’ He looked mournfully at the steeds the party were leading by
the reins.

Past the large
barn-like buildings were some smaller, more habitable dwellings,
each a storey high. Past a bakery were the smouldering remains of
two larger structures.

‘
This was our inn,’ Saykaan said. ‘And this here is the mayor’s
house, where my mother used to live.’

‘
She died?’ Gabel asked.

‘
No, she runs things now from the town hall just down this
street.’

‘
Where will we sleep?’ Rowan quietly asked Gabel. She hadn’t
wished to be overheard, but Saykaan turned and faced
her.

‘
We have a new inn, but I am afraid it’s only makeshift. It’s
also full with the families who have lost their homes. You’re
welcome to try and see if there’s room, but I suspect that there
may be none. Now I must go and speak with my mother. Will you be
all right by yourselves?’

‘
Yes, we can manage,’ the magus said. ‘Will you tell your
mother that we’ve arrived?’

‘
Yes, of course. All visitors must be logged. She may summon
you in the morning. I advise you to do as she asks.’

‘
Of course,’ Gabel said. ‘Can you direct us to the new
inn?’

‘
Down this street,’ Saykaan said, and he and the four others
turned a corner and disappeared down an empty road, past the ruins
of four more buildings.

‘
The Luxers are selective in their destruction,’ Sarai said,
noticing the rows of untouched houses and then the smoking remains
of one less lucky.

‘
They try and weaken their enemies before killing them,’ the
magus said darkly. ‘It makes the final assault easier.’

They came to what looked like a large barn with a wide door,
over which was nailed a hastily painted sign in large black
letters:
THE WATER
WADER
.

There was a
racket coming from inside. The party pushed open the doors and
found themselves in the middle of a dispute. The entire inn was
crammed full of people, the majority of whom were huddled at the
back of the place.

A young man, well-built and tall, stood just in front of
where Gabel did, his face adamant, and his arms around two girls
each a foot shorter than he. He was dressed head to foot in silk,
colourfully reflective in the electric light: a gleaming white
shirt, like a slice of porcelain, and sea-blue pantaloons bunched
at the ankles. His earrings were shaped like naked
figurines.

‘
This is no place for your whores, Turenn!’ the barkeep was
yelling, furiously waving a filthy dishrag. ‘There are families
staying here now!’

‘
We’re family girls!’ one of Turenn’s women called, blowing a
kiss. ‘We’ll have fathers
and
their sons!’

The other
girls laughed at this, and Turenn, standing between them, shushed
angrily. They silenced immediately. ‘Mardok, these girls have a
right to drink here,’ he said firmly.

‘
Drink, yes, but not work. Take your wenches and be gone!’ The
barkeep slammed his palms on the makeshift bar surface. ‘No more of
this!’

Turenn gave a
look of indignation and turned his nose to the ceiling. ‘Come on
then, girls. I’m sure if there are any men interested in here,
they’ll follow us outside.’

A few of the men at the far side of the inn shifted
uncomfortably in their seats, but none stood. Turenn and the small
group of young women trailed past Gabel and the others and out
through the swinging doors.

‘
That Turenn!’ one of the women at the back yelled, calling as
the doors snapped to. ‘He’s turned the girls of this town into
toys. If the world was a fair place…’

‘
If the world was a fair place, Denise,’ the barkeep cried,
‘Turenn would have died in those fires instead of his father. Now
come on, the little ones should be getting ready for bed. Those
sleeping down here should prepare their sheets. And no squabbling
tonight!’

There were
general murmurs amongst the crowd of forty or so people, and they
moved slowly and tiredly, taking youngsters upstairs or stacking
the tables in the corners of the room.

The magus and Sarai moved toward the bar. The keep saw them
approaching and stopped them in their tracks. ‘No! No room.’ The
magus only managed to open his mouth before the keep spoke up
again:

‘
There is no more room in this building!
No room
! I’m sorry, but there’ve
been fires recently and the survivors have to stay somewhere. They
must take priority.’

‘
Are there any other places to stay?’

‘
The stables were burned down,’ the man said, moving from
behind the dusty bar and helping to heave the heavy wooden tables
toward the edges of the room, so that the men and women could
arrange their bedding on the floor. ‘And the real inn is gone.
There’s nowhere agreeable left.’

‘
It needn’t be agreeable,’ the magus replied.

‘
Then you can go and see the man that just walked out. His
name’s Turenn, he owns a place three streets down that way. Ask him
and I’m sure he’ll offer you a room in return for
something.’

‘
Thank you,’ the magus said, and breezed past the rest of the
party and out the doors.

‘
You know this Turenn probably owns a bordello,’ Caeles said
quietly to Gabel as they followed. ‘He looked like a
pimp.’

‘
I have remarkable eyes, Caeles,’ the hunter rejoined. ‘I can
see for myself.’

Outside, the
magus had stopped Turenn and was quietly conversing with him. Every
now and again the man looked up and shot a glance at Rowan, who was
busy examining the bright dresses of the young women, admiring the
fine reflective materials.

‘
Yes, I own an establishment just down here,’ he was telling
the old man. ‘I do very well for myself. I can offer you a room or
two to stay in the next couple of nights.’

‘
Thank you,’ said the magus. ‘We can pay you for your
kindness.’

‘
That will be required, I’m afraid,’ Turenn said almost
apologetically. ‘My girls can’t live off my generosity
alone.’

~

The temperature so close to the Plains was stifling, and
there was also the heat from the embers, which still twinkled with
red light as the remains of the burnt buildings were rekindled by
the hot air. Soon all the group except Caeles were sweating
profusely, including Turenn, who told them that no-one, even
natives of Iilyani, really got used to the local
climate.

‘
We’re here,’ he said, stopping in the empty street outside the
door of a large two-storey building. It stood out amongst the other
smaller dwellings. ‘You see that being my father’s son has its
advantages.’

‘
Who’s your father?’

‘
He was the mayor,’ he said.

He knocked on the door in such a way as to suggest some kind
of password, and there was the click-snap of a bolt drawn from a
bracket. The door opened and two young-looking girls gave warm
smiles as Turenn’s dark face grinned at them through the
night.

‘
Hi boss!’ they chimed, and embraced him in the doorway. He
kissed them both in turn and made way for his guests to
enter.

Colour and
colour: the walls were lavishly decorated in drapery and large
portraits, and the floor was carpeted in thick rouge. A fireplace
was being tended by another teenager with long wet hair and a
bathrobe.

‘
Come this way, please,’ Turenn asked the magus, after greeting
the girl in the robe. He took them all through the room and into a
back corridor. ‘I’ll see if there’s a spare room for you. All my
lasses stay here with me, you see, and they all have their own
apartments…’

As they walked
down the corridor he knocked on each of the doors in turn,
sometimes getting a response and sometimes not. When he got no
reply, he carefully twisted the doorknobs to see if the door was
locked. They were at a corner in the corridor before they found a
room that was unoccupied.

‘
Here,’ he said, letting them all through. The room was quite
small, though strangely had two double-sized beds. Rowan couldn’t
fathom why. ‘You’ll have to sleep together or on the floor, I’m
afraid,’ he said with an apologetic smile. He made to close the
door. ‘I’ve some work to do, and I like to see all of the girls
when I get in at night. I imagine you’ll all be tired after your
journey.’

‘
Is there anywhere in town we can eat?’ asked Gabel.

‘
I’ll prepare us all a meal in an hour,’ Turenn said
graciously. ‘Would you care to introduce yourselves?’

‘
This is Joseph,’ the magus said before anyone could stop him.
‘This is Sarai, and Caeles.’

‘
Actually,’ Turenn said, ‘I was more interested in this one.’
He stood very close to Rowan. ‘What’s your name? Venus? Or
Aphrodite?’

Gabel watched as Rowan lowered her eyes. He made to move
forward, but stopped when he saw she had a smile on her
face.

‘
Her name is Rowan,’ he growled. ‘And you’ll leave her
alone.’

Turenn reversed out of the door. ‘No worries,’ he said with a
smile. ‘I’ll call you at meal time.’

‘
Joseph,’ Rowan said quietly, once the door had
closed.

‘
Before this goes any further,’ the hunter said, his hands
grasping her elbows, ‘you don’t listen to Turenn. He preys on
people like you. He’s like a rusalki, feeding off young women.
He’ll corrupt you, Rowan.’

‘
I’m already corrupted!’ she snapped back, anger darkening her
face. She dropped to one of the beds. ‘Or at least, damaged. Do you
forget I don’t know who I am? That I’ve no memories before the past
two and a half years?’

Gabel could
think of nothing to say as Rowan turned away from them on the bed,
ballooning a sheet up over herself.

‘
I’m going to talk to Turenn,’ he muttered.

‘
No,’ the magus replied. ‘We could all do with some rest. Let’s
just wait until it’s time to eat. We can all talk then.’

~

Turenn knocked on the door seventy minutes later, before
ushering them into a large dining room as copiously decorated as
the first: a polished table; another fireplace, ornately mantled;
cushioned benches along the walls and gold-bordered portraits above
them; candle chandeliers and heavy, sweeping bows of
satin.

Turenn gave
each of the party a seat along one edge of the table. On the other
side Turenn sat in the centre, six girls setting themselves down on
either wing. Two others sat on both sides of the party, one next to
Caeles and the other next to Gabel, who couldn’t help noticing that
Turenn had seated Rowan directly opposite him.

‘
These are all my girls,’ he said, once the table had been
lavishly laid and everyone seated. He went through a list of
flowery names that Gabel instantly forgot. ‘Are we all ready to
eat?’

There were
delighted laughs and claps from each of the eight young women, who
began serving themselves birdy portions.

‘
Help yourself,’ Turenn said generously, beaming at Rowan. ‘My
food is the food of my guests.’

The party
began cautiously filling their plates with the meats, vegetables
and cheeses. The room tinkled with the girls’ chatter, punctuated
occasionally by the odd quip from Turenn, every one of which seemed
to please the girls greatly.

Caeles sat with an
empty plate, doing his best not to look at the young lass beside
him who traced the star on the back of his hand with a long finger,
staring at him with doe-brown eyes. He was observing Turenn,
watching as he laughed and flirted with his flock of
youngsters.

His gaze settled on Rowan, who leaned forward to take a roll
of bread from a basket in the centre of the table. Turenn rose from
his chair and offered the basket to her with a smile, which she
returned with a thank you.

Caeles had
expected the other girls to respond with hostility to Turenn’s
flirtation with Rowan, yet they laughed and talked much more with
her than any of the others.

‘
I don’t think Father would approve,’ Gabel was muttering
quietly to the magus.

‘
Perhaps not,’ the old man replied. ‘But let Turenn have his
fun. As long as he stays that side of the table.’

‘
He’d better,’ Gabel hissed, ‘or that soup will be the only
thing he’ll be able to eat.’

When the meal
ended the girls fell over themselves to clear away the plates, each
eager to please their master and lover, who graciously scattered
words of praise and approval as if they were confetti. One girl
seemed to have charmed herself special dispensation from clearing
that evening, and sat on his lap, engaging her lips with his.